


Monsters Like Us

by Ghost_Senpai



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Demons, M/M, Nott is the mom we all deserve, Pining, She’s 100x nicer to Molly in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 11:33:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Senpai/pseuds/Ghost_Senpai
Summary: Wizard in training Caleb tries summoning a second familiar and ends up with a demon instead.





	Monsters Like Us

**Author's Note:**

> Heyoo, here goes my first contribution to the CR tag! This AU has been sitting in my mind for a while. I’m sure it doesn’t fall in with d&d lore, so think of it as a different world with its own rules. I apologize in advance for my slow updates as I don’t plan anything and just write as I come up with stuff. To any German speakers out there, I also apologize! All the german here is directly pulled from google translate so I hope that it is somewhat accurate.
> 
> Also I found this nifty little infernal translator and decided to make use of it. So kudos to this person:  
> https://lingojam.com/D&DInfernalTranslator

 

 

  
     It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. It was a simple spell, one that Caleb used before although at a slightly lower level of difficulty. So how could he have gotten it so wrong? The wizard would have to go over his notes and point out his mistakes later. Right now there were more pressing matters. Namely the naked lavender demon crouched on all fours on top of his summoning circle, and the panicking voice of his small green companion. The demon, whose intense red eyes he could feel boring holes into his very being, was currently being help back by an impromptu barrier spell that Caleb set up immediately after he noticed something had gone wrong, however this didn’t stop the confused and clearly angered demon from trying to get at them. Guttural snarls emanated from the demon as its attempts to claw down the magic wall were met with failure. Caleb knew the barrier wouldn’t last too long, so he needed to act now.

“Bind him! Banish him! Do something!”, Nott yelled as she peeked from behind Caleb. He could feel her shaking as she tugged harshly on his coat, trying to get him to act.

Caleb considered his choices and found them to be scarce. He couldn’t banish the demon back, he’d just gotten the summoning spell wrong, banishing it would require additional knowledge about the spell that quite frankly he wasn’t ready to learn at this level. So that left two choices, he would have to kill the demon or bind him. Killing the demon could result to be a dangerous and foolish task. He didn’t know what kind of powers it held and going into a fight blind could result in his and Nott’s death. The idea that any harm would come to Nott was enough to discard the killing option almost as quickly as it appeared in his mind. The second choice would be to bind the demon to him. He considered that it would be tricky, the only experience he’d ever had binding creatures was with his current familiar Frumpkin, and even the cat spirit was a much lower level and harmless creature. This was a creature who could fight back, who could resist the attempt of being owned. It certainly wouldn’t be easy.

“Caleb!!” Nott’s frantic yelling pulled him out of his thoughts as she pointed to the magic wall already beginning to chip under the demon’s advances on it. It’s sharp claws releasing attack after attack.

Caleb steeled his mind and recalled back on the arcane words he’d used when he bound Frumpkin. He hoped his voice didn’t portray the fear he felt as the words spilled from his lips. It was an entirely different language, one that Nott never understood, but it seemed to affect the demon before the spell was even complete. The creature suddenly froze, its red eyes widening. It scampered backwards away from the wizard only to find its back meeting with another magic barrier behind him. It looked like an animal cornered and less like a predator. Just then as his spell reached completion, a sigil appeared on the demon’s chest and joined the other intricate markings on its skin. The demon’s claws were immediately on it, attempting to scratch it away but unable to.

Caleb took a shaky breath and licked his dry lips. “Nott, I need you to leave the room and shut the door. I’m going to take the barrier down.”

Nott warily glanced between the demon and Caleb. “Alright, but I’ll be right outside”, she kept a firm grasp on her crossbow and scampered out of the room, quickly shutting the door behind her. Caleb could tell that she indeed still remained just outside the door, waiting for further instructions should she be needed.

Caleb swallowed hard and stared at the demon, still trying to claw at its skin, viscous black liquid made its way to the surface but the sigil remained intact. The wizard mustered every ounce of confidence he could and spoke. “Alright... you will listen to me now.” He raised his hand tentatively at the demon who just now began to take an interest in what the stranger had to say. Red eyes zeroed in on him as it stopped its frantic clawing. “You are bound to me and will do as I say, understand?” Caleb waited for a response but got none. However the demon seemed to have calmed down considerably, so he slowly took down the barrier.

Silence filled the room as they both stared at each other, wondering who would make the first move. Caleb slowly crouched down to be more leveled with the demon and lowered his voice as to not startle it. “It is alright mein Freund, I won’t hurt you.” He flipped over already outstretched hand, beckoning the demon closer. “That is quite the nasty wound you inflicted on yourself... I could help if you’d let me.”

The demon’s eyes flicked between the hand towards him and the man’s face, then back to the hand again. It seemed untrusting, and for good reason Caleb thought. Still, the demon made a slight movement as it settled its hands on the floor and carefully leaned towards the wizard.

“That’s right... come closer. I won’t hurt you”, Caleb encouraged. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Just then as Caleb let his guard down, the demon made a haste attack towards him only to be launched back a couple of feet by a magic blast that separated the two of them. Caleb himself seemed to be affected and landed on his back with a thud. He quickly propped himself on his elbows to see the demon messily crawl onto his work table, still dripping blood from the wound on its chest, and knocking over glass vials in the process. It somehow managed to climb onto the bookcase just beside the table and there it stayed, eyes trained on the wizard currently speechless on the floor. The creature’s sharp teeth were bared and its tail swung from side to side like a cat watching its prey.

“ **Da laz oaad suzm py parzid** ”, the thing spoke between jagged breaths in a horrifying tone that sent chills down Caleb’s spine.

The wizard was overcome with fear as he scrambled backwards, his back hitting the wooden door. He reached back and fumbled with the doorknob, using it as leverage to stand even if his knees felt like they would give out any second. All the while never taking his eyes off the demon currently crouched between his bookcase and the ceiling. He finally managed to open the door and quickly stood out, slamming the door and holding onto the doorknob for good measure.

“What happened?!” Nott yelled as she stood behind him, evidently waiting at the ready, crossbow in hand.

Caleb took a few measured breaths and stayed quiet wondering if the demon would try to make a run for it through the door he currently held. When he was sure he couldn’t hear anything, he casted a barrier on the door and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his nerves down. “I think... we may be in for more than what we bargained for.”

Nott gave him a curious look and spared a glance at the door. “Will that hold him back?”

“For as long as I’m able to spend the magic”, he nodded.

“Very well, it won’t do much to stare at the door all day”, she reached up and gingerly took Caleb’s clammy hand into her’s. “I’ll make you some tea... you look pale.”

Nott led him away from the door and into their small kitchen, where she helped Caleb sit down on one of the stools and set her crossbow on the table. Her small feet patted on the floor as she went over to fetch a kettle inside one of the lower cabinets. “So... what happened?” She asked as she filled the kettle with water.

“Well”, Caleb took a deep breath. “I tore down the barrier and it just... came at me.”

The small goblin turned sharply at him. “Are you alright?!”

“Yes, yes. I’m fine.” Caleb was quick to reassure her. “When it made the move... it was like its bond to me protected me. It can’t harm me, liebling. Don’t you worry.”

Nott remained quiet as she lit the hearth and set the kettle over it to let the water boil. She then walked over to the table and sat next to Caleb. “So, what’s our plan then? You can’t keep him locked in your workroom forever. How about you go into town and get help, I can stay he-“

“No”, Caleb quickly interrupted. “I’m not leaving you alone with that thing. If anything happened to you because of something that I foolishly brought forth... if anything happened to you at all... “ He sighed and lowered his head.

Nott nodded softly, understanding. “Well I can’t go into town myself, we both know that.”

“Ja, I know. I have a better idea.” Caleb snapped his fingers and an orange tabby cat appeared on the table. He thoroughly searched through his coat and produced a small piece of parchment and charcoal to write a hasty letter that he then tucked into Frumpkin’s collar. “Alright mein Freund, I need you to find Fjord and deliver this to him. Think you can do that?” He scratched behind the cat’s ear and received a pleased purr in return, followed by the cat jumping down from the table and darting out of the room.

Nott shot Caleb a curious look. “Fjord? Do you think he’ll come?”

Caleb stared pensive in the direction that Frumpkin darted off to and mumbled something under his breath. “Ich weiß es nicht... “

Nott hopped off her seat and went to check on the boiling water. “Well I hope Frumpkin finds him soon.”

Caleb’s attention shifted towards his workroom as he heard faint clattering and rustling coming from within. “I hope so too, liebling.”

  
——

  
Waiting proved to be a much more difficult task than anticipated, given the increment in sounds coming from within Caleb’s workroom. He could hear the jingling of flasks and the scraping of a wooden chair across the floor. No doubt he’ll have to deal with the mess after the demon situation gets taken care of.

That night, Caleb couldn’t sleep. Instead opting for sitting in front of the workroom door, making sure that the magic barrier he set stayed strong. Nott would occasionally fetch him food, but mostly she stuck by his side. Sometimes it would go quiet inside the room and that made Caleb more nervous than when he heard sounds, but they soon came back. It seemed as though the demon was having a restless night as well.

“What do you think he’s doing in there?” Nott whispered beside him.

“I don’t know. You should get some sleep though.”

“No way, if you won’t sleep then I won’t either. Besides, someone has to look out for you.”

Caleb gave a defeated sigh and they fell back into the usual silence with the occasional rustling from behind the door. Nott was never good with patience and from the corner of Caleb’s eye, he could see her anxiously tapping her fingernails against her leg.

“ ...What kind of food do you think he likes? Maybe if we feed him he will be nicer, sometimes I too get grumpy when I don’t eat.”

Caleb glanced at Nott and gave her a confused look. “Why do you keep doing that? Calling it a he?”

“Well... it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?” Nott vaguely gestured with her hands at the door, obviously referring to the demon beyond it. “I mean, he wasn’t wearing anything. Kind of hard to miss.”

“That’s not what I meant. That... that thing... it’s not-“

“Not what? Human?” Nott quickly interjected as she peered up at the wizard with her large yellow eyes. “Well neither am I. Does that make me an ‘it’ as well?”

Caleb stared back at her, words caught in his mouth.

“I know what it’s like to be judged by how you look”, she continued, dropping her voice to a low murmur. “By what you are in their eyes.”

Caleb gave a defeated sigh. “You’re nothing like that”, he gently ruffled his companion’s hair and kissed her forehead.

Their tender moment was interrupted by two loud knocks on the front door. Nott quickly rose to her feet and took a defensive stance, already reaching for her weapon. Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her and stayed quiet, asserting the situation, when he heard Frumpkin come in through the small flap at the bottom of the door. Logic suggested that it should be Fjord on the other side of the door, but Caleb was a wary man.

He quietly stood and made his way to the front door, all the while keeping Nott behind him. Even when he reached the door he stayed quiet and still.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Caleb. Open up.” Fjord’s deep voice spoke from behind the door and Caleb immediately relaxed, unhinging all his locks and swinging the door open. There stood a cloaked half-orc with a familiar face. Fjord spent no time in pleasantries and made his way inside the much warmer cabin, where he removed the hood of his cloak.

Caleb shut the door to keep the cold of the night at bay and immediately set all the locks back in place.

“Now what is so important that I had to trek two hours for?” Fjord dug around his robe and produced the messily scribbled note Caleb wrote, holding it up for the wizard to see.

A loud crash came from the workroom, causing the three people in the room to turn their heads towards the sound.

“That... is what I called you here for”, Caleb said with a deep breath. “If I recall correctly, you are the only person I know that has experience with this type of situation. Also you are the only one I knew would come”, he made his way towards the workroom, thankful that the barrier was still in place. Fjord and Nott followed in tow. “I seemed to have summoned something... that I wasn’t meant to.”

Fjord gave a wary look to the door. “What kind of thing are we talking about here?”

“Nothing you haven’t dealt with before.” Caleb tore down the barrier and stood in front of Nott. “Stay behind me, lieber”, he whispered at her as he cautiously opened the door to his workroom. Peering in, the first thing he noticed was his bookcase on the floor, probably the cause of the loud crash. His desk was also turned on its side. There were pieces parchment scattered across the floor along with broken bits of glass and ink and all kinds of arcane ingredients. “Scheisse... ”, Caleb swung the door open a bit more and cursed under his breath at the destruction. In one of the corners of the room was a hoard of interesting items, mostly composed of shiny gems and metals, but also found in the pile were heavily decorated tomes and some lovely colored tapestries that once hung on the walls. At the center of the hoard was the demon itself, looking alert now that it had company.

Nott and Fjord peeked into the room from behind Caleb. Fjord’s eyes widened at the mess before him but more importantly at the hostile demon hissing in their direction. “Oh hell, Caleb”, he huffed and grabbed he doorknob from Caleb’s hand, closing the door once more. He set up his own magical barrier around it, one that Caleb could tell was more powerful than his own and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a slight pang of jealousy at that.

“So will you help us?” Nott piped up.

“I’m afraid there’s not much I can do in this situation. If you want it banished, that’s something only Caleb can do. I could teach you, but I’d have to run back and fetch my books.” Fjord ran his fingers through his hair in what seemed like frustration. He seemed tired, and perhaps a bit stressed. Caleb often forgot that at this hour most people would be sleeping, instead of traveling two hours to a cabin in the forest to help a friend.

“Well we don’t want him banished, do we?” Nott looked up at Caleb, who seemed undecided. “Having a demon of our own would be helpful, Caleb. You could get so much better at magic!”

Caleb sighed defeatedly and made his way towards the kitchen area, plopping miserably into one of the stools. Nott worried and followed with Fjord in tow. “I think it’s obvious to say that I don’t know what I’m doing. This is... far beyond my capabilities”. Caleb leaned his head on his hands. “I’m not worried about myself, but Nott... if anything happened to her because of me... “

Fjord took the seat opposite from Caleb. “If that’s what worries you then I could work a protection charm for Nott.” He looked straight at the wizard. “But Caleb, you have power over the demon, not the other way around. If you want him to do something, including not attacking Nott, then all you need to do is command him. Trust me, he is more afraid of you than you are of him.”

Caleb sent him a dubious glare that had no malice behind it whatsoever. “When it spoke, it was a language that I couldn’t understand.”

“Demons know a variety of languages. They are quite smart actually, not too different from you and I.” Fjord leaned back and crossed his arms. “But if you are still unable to communicate with him then I could bring Jester with me next time. I’m sure he’d be more comfortable having another demon around.”

“I wouldn’t”, Caleb grumbled. Nott stood by his side and placed her hand on his back.

“I’m just trying to help.” Fjord shrugged. “But you know, I’m actually quite impressed you managed to summon a demon, even if only by accident. It goes to show what a strong wizard you could be. With the right teaching-“

“I’m not going back.”

The half-orc went quiet and Nott exchanged glances between Caleb and Fjord, sensing a building tension. Fjord took a deep breath and set his arms on the table, leaning forward just slightly. “Caleb, I don’t blame you for what happened.”

Caleb refused to meet the other man’s gaze and instead chose to stare at the floor. Nott tensed and wished that Fjord would stop talking.

“Things are different now.” Fjord continued regardless. “I’m teaching at the academy now, I could pull a few strings and get you back in-“

Caleb stood abruptly from his seat, causing Nott to flinch. The sound of the stool dragging across the floor was enough to interrupt Fjord. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry to have wasted your time, but you may go now.”

Fjord looked up at the wizard who still refused to look back at him. He gave a sigh and stood up, making his way to the door. Caleb followed, released all the locks and held the door open. Fjord stopped at the door and gave Caleb one last glance. “It was nice to see you again, Caleb. Take care of yourself.” He gave him a sturdy pat on the shoulder and a curtly nod towards Nott, then headed out. Caleb wasted no time in closing his door and setting all the locks back into place.

Nott reached up and took his hand. “Are you ok?”

“Ja... I know he means well. But I just... rather not have this conversation.” He looked down at Nott and tried to give her a reassuring smile. It did nothing to ease her worried frown.

With Fjord now at a relatively far distance from the house, the sound of his magic barrier dissipated. Both Nott’s and Caleb’s heads snapped up and they sprinted towards the now unprotected room. Caleb placed one hand on the doorknob and the other in front of Nott to keep her behind him. “Be ready to run if you have to.”

Nott gave Caleb a determined look that he knew all too well. One that said that she wouldn’t just abandon him if things were to go sour. Regardless, he pressed on and cautiously opened the door. Not much had changed, the mess was still present, the pile of things was still present, but more importantly the demon was still present, still looking as hostile as before.

They pressed on into the room carefully, taking slow steps. “Alright, let’s try again.” Caleb stopped and crouched down a few feet away from the demon. “It seems we got off on the wrong foot.”

Nott peeked from behind Caleb and took in all the different bobbles and trinkets that the demon had collected from within the room. She let out a soft gasp and excitedly whispered into Caleb’s ear. “He likes shiny things too!”

Caleb, tying to focus on taming a wild demon tried to ignore the goblin for the most part. “My name is Caleb Widogast. And this is Nott.” He pointed at her.

Nott gave a wide smile and waved enthusiastically.

The demon shared glances between the two of them and seemed to ponder something before finally speaking. “ **...Mollymauk.** ”

Nott grimaced and muttered. “Terrible name.”

Thankfully Mollymauk didn’t seem to be offended at Nott’s remark, as he kept glancing between the two strangers.

“Very well, Mollymauk... “ The name felt strange in Caleb’s tongue. “It seems I summoned you by mistake. However I have no plans of sending you back. So how about we get along?”

Mollymauk chuckled, which gave Caleb the opportunity to see just how terrifying those sharp canines were up close. “I’m not a pet.” Not only could the demon understand common, but he would speak it fairly good as well. Caleb was as surprised as he was strangely enchanted by the change of tone in the demon’s voice. Whereas before it sounded grating and absolutely nightmare inducing, now the words sounded like honey.

“ ...Y-Yes, -no, no one is debating that”, Caleb tried to regain his composure. “Pets tend to be soft and friendly, ja?”

“Get rid of this.” Mollymauk hastily pointed at the sigil on his chest.

Caleb hesitated, his eyes looking over the bloody mark. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. It is the only way I know you won’t hurt me or my friend here.” He gestured towards Nott.

The answer didn’t seem to please the demon as he readied himself for an attack. “ **Faad! xe sudd rue hafr myirz afz vorv oyiwz al uz!** ”

Caleb was once again taken aback but managed to act much more quickly than last time. “Bleibe!” He yelled out and immediately the demon fell down on the floor. Mollymauk glared up at him furious and slightly confused, as he tried to move but was unable to. “Unten bleiben... “, Caleb repeats for good measure and begins to will his heartbeat back to normal. He could feel Nott shaking behind him so he gently touched her head to try and soothe her as he addressed the demon. “You will stay down, and you will not hurt me or Nott, understand?”

Mollymauk grimaced as he tried once more to lift himself, but it felt as though a great force pulled him towards the ground. After all his efforts were met with failure, he eventually stopped struggling and gave up.

While Caleb was preoccupied with Mollymauk, Nott quietly made her way out of the room and returned with an armful of cloth. “If you’re going to be living with us, you’ll need to wear clothes”, she said as she made her way over to the still restrained demon.

“Nott... “ Caleb eyed her warily. “Don’t get too close.”

Nott looked back at Caleb, then at Mollymauk, and gingerly placed the clothing a foot away from the demon. “I’ll uh... give you some privacy. Come on, Caleb.” She tugged on the wizard’s coat as she made her way towards the door.

Caleb frowned at Mollymauk and gave a look around the trashed room. “You may move, but do try not to make more of a mess.”

Nott guided Caleb out of the room and into their kitchen. The man miserably plopped down on a chair and muttered under his breath. “Gib mir Stärke... “, he sighed.

The goblin placed her hand on Caleb’s back. “Get some rest. You haven’t slept much lately.”

“And leave you alone with-... with him? I cannot risk that.”

“I’ll be fine Caleb. Besides, I don’t think it’s me he wants to hurt. I’m more worried about you.”

“No, it’s out of the question.” Caleb shook his head and stood. Rummaging through their pantry, he found a piece of licorice root and began to anxiously chew on it, an act that Nott recognized as one of Caleb’s nervous ticks.

Nott sighed as she watched this. “Caleb-“

Just then, they were distracted by the wood creaking near the entrance to the kitchen. Their heads snapped simultaneously to the source, the purple demon standing there awkwardly and fully clothed much to Nott’s relief. Caleb’s chewing on the root became more frantic.

Mollymauk lightly adjusted the loose blouse, which bore a low cut that showed off the new sigil on his chest. The cuts around it appeared to have closed and heal rather quickly. The trousers hugged his waist and legs perfectly, and Caleb noticed that he even took the liberty of cutting open a slit for his tail.

“These are yours”, the demon stated.

Caleb noticed that his demeanor had changed significantly, he seemed more calm and kept his voice relatively low. “ ...Ja”, he replied.

“Why don’t you wear them? They’re much nicer and cleaner than what you have on.” The demon raised a brow as he judged Caleb’s attire. It seemed old, worn, and dirty.

“He doesn’t like them”, Nott piped up. “He thinks they’re too flashy.”

Mollymauk narrowed his eyes at Caleb’s clothes, his distaste for the frayed clothing becoming more apparent. Caleb awkwardly squirmed under the demon’s harsh gaze, wishing he’d stop. It was also unnerving seeing him at his full height instead of crouched down.

“They’re... from a long time ago. I doubt they’d still fit anyway”, Caleb finally spoke, eyes shifting to look at anything but Mollymauk. “More importantly, are you through trying to attack me?”

Mollymauk crossed his arms, his tail moving agitatedly behind him. “For now... “

Nott’s eyes switched between Caleb and Mollymauk, sensing an awkward tension in the room. “Is anyone hungry? Do you- do you eat, Mollymauk? I-Is that something you do?”

“Of course I eat. What kind of question is that?”

“Well how would we know? Frumpkin never eats anything!” Nott shrugged.

“Frumpkin?”

Caleb snapped his fingers, causing the cat to appear on the kitchen table. Mollymauk looked at the creature unimpressed. “Yes well, I’m sure you’ll find I’m quite different from your usual familiar.”

“We’ve gathered that so far, yes.” Nott rummaged through their small kitchen, looking for anything that a demon might like. Certainly he must like meat, everyone liked meat. But they were running low on stock, and it didn’t seem like Caleb would go into town and shop for groceries any time soon. So she instead opted for an apple and a handful of grapes. She set the items in the table and Mollymauk moved in. Nott flinched but otherwise didn’t move from the spot. Caleb on the other hand now had his eyes trained on the man. Any wrong move and he wouldn’t hesitate to blast him with a spell.

“Hey Molly, what do the markings mean?” Nott stared at the man’s skin as climbed onto a stool by the table.

Caleb’s concentration was interrupted as he pulled a face at Nott, grimacing at the way the goblin causally referred to Mollymauk. ‘Molly’ stopped from popping a grape into his mouth and blinked at the small goblin. He then broke into a wicked grin that sent a shiver up Caleb’s spine. Either Nott wasn’t fazed by it or she didn’t seem to notice how the demon looked down at her like she was a meal. Regardless, Nott just patiently waited for an answer as she reached to stroke Frumpkin.

“And why should I tell you, little one?” He tossed the grape into his mouth and crushed it between his teeth, making show of his canines.

Nott shivered and ducked her head down under Molly’s smug gaze. “You don’t have to tell us. Just making light conversation.”

Mollymauk let out an amused hum and went through the rest of the grapes. “They mean many things. But mostly it’s a social standing thing.” He waved his hand around nonchalantly as he tossed the last grape into his mouth.

At that, Nott snapped her head up and blinked at the man, suddenly curious. “Like a caste system?”

“Exactly like that.” He grabbed the apple and inspected it.

“What do yours mean?”

Mollymauk stiffened. “It means I’m important. That’s all you’re getting from me.”

Nott pouted and settled down on her seat, deciding not to prod any further.

“So where’s the other one?” Molly asked in an attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere. “The brawny green one. I didn’t scare him, did I?” He gave an apologetic smile, that didn’t seem very apologetic at all.

“Ah... Fjord”, Caleb muttered, drawing the attention of the demon who simply raised a brow as he took a bite of the apple. “I had merely called him over to help me with, uh... you. But he’s gone now.”

“That’s a shame.” Mollymauk leaned forwards on the table, resting his elbows. His tail moved slowly behind him as he stared intently at Caleb, the only sound in the room now being the crunch of the apple as Molly ate through it.

Caleb awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted in his spot. “You can stay in my workroom, for now. Nott can fetch you a blanket.”

“Oh!” Said goblin quickly got to her feet and scampered somewhere else, presumably in search of the blanket.

“This way”, Caleb carefully moved around the demon and kept his distance as he made his way out of the kitchen and towards the room. Mollymauk sighed and rolled his eyes, but reluctantly followed.

Inside the room, Caleb attempted to lift the bookcase but found it splintered at the top and decided not to move it in fear of breaking it. He did manage to move his desk and chair upright, as well as scavenge a few unbroken vials. “Verdammt... “, he murmured under his breath. Most of his work was destroyed.

Molly peeked inside the room and frowned. “You’re not gonna lock me in there again.”

Caleb sighed and sent a glare towards Mollymauk. “You have no choice in this matter. Nott and I have to get some sleep eventually and we won’t do it with you on the loose. So get comfortable, and maybe clean the mess while you’re at it as well, ja?” He sounded slightly more aggravated as he gestured around the trashed room. Mollymauk still made no intention to move, which only irritated Caleb further. “Come.”

The demon felt a pull towards Caleb that he couldn’t control. His body moved on its own accord and even though he gripped the door frame to try and resist, he still found himself standing in the middle of the room. Caleb took a step back when he got too close, then walked around Mollymauk to stand by the door.

Nott arrived holding a folded blanket and a small pillow. “I managed to find these, I hope they’ll do just fine.”

“Thank you, liebling”. Caleb gingerly took them from Nott and tossed them to Mollymauk, who just barely caught them. “You are not allowed to leave this room until morning. Gute nacht.” With that, he closed the door, perhaps a bit harder than usual. Nott stared up at Caleb, and after the wizard sighed and ran a hand down his weary face he looked back at her. “What?”

Nott shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You think I’m being harsh on him.” Caleb frowned and headed towards his room, which wasn’t too far. It was a small cabin.

“A little.” Nott followed.

“Nott... he’s not like you and I.” He paused outside his room, hand on the doorknob. He quickly realized that he didn’t want to have this conversation again. He was tired and just wanted to get some sleep. After Nott didn’t respond, he sighed and spoke again. “Do you want to stay with me tonight?”

“I’d like that.” The goblin nodded. She agreed more for Caleb’s sake than her own. The two rarely slept apart anyway, even if Nott did have her own room. Although at this point it had become more of a storage room, composed of all the items that the small goblin deemed worthy of hoarding.

There was something comforting about sleeping next to someone. All the hang ups and preoccupations that fluttered through Caleb’s busy mind always seemed to fade, if only momentarily, when he slept beside Nott. Just feeling a warm body next to his was enough to bring him reassurance, to make him feel grounded to this earth, to make him feel safe. Tomorrow he would wake with answers, but for now he allowed himself this moment.

 

 

 


End file.
